The CBI court in Lucknow has convicted all seven individuals implicated in the assassination of BSP legislator Raju Pal, handing down life sentences to six of the accused and a four-year prison term to one. Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf, who were both killed in police custody, were also implicated in the case. Now, the live defendants Abid, Farhan, Javed, Abdul Qavi, Gul Hasan, Israr, and Ranjit Pal have been found guilty.
Daring daylight murder of Raju Pal
In a landmark judgment, the Lucknow Special CBI Court found all accused in the Raju Pal murder case guilty. Six were sentenced to life imprisonment while Farhan received a four-year sentence. Nineteen years earlier, on January 25, 2005, BSP legislator Raju Pal was brutally gunned down in Prayagraj's Dhoomanganj area.
Raju Pal's political rivalry, after defeating mafia Atiq Ahmed's brother Ashraf, is believed to be the motive behind the murder. In broad daylight, in Prayagraj, Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf orchestrated the hit with their henchmen.
The assassination of Raju Pal unravelled
Back in 2004, Raju Pal was elected as a BSP legislator. Atiq Ahmed's brother Ashraf, running for the Samajwadi Party, lost the election. Within three months of the results, on January 25, 2005, Atiq's gang ambushed Raju Pal. The legislator had just left the SRN Hospital that day in a convoy consisting of a Qualis and a Scorpio. Raju Pal himself was driving the Qualis with Rukhsana seated beside him.
As they reached GT Road, a Scorpio overtook them, and at that moment, Raju Pal was shot. Five attackers emerged from the Scorpio, unleashing a hail of bullets on Pal. The attack left Rukhsana injured, while Sandeep Yadav and Devilal were killed. Nineteen bullets struck Raju Pal. Umesh Pal, who was a key eye-witness to the incident and a relative of Raju Pal, was also involved in the case.
